Ah yes, dog snobbery.
It really pisses me off when people say a dog is dangerous just because of its breed.

I've seen Rottweilers that are soft as anything, and those little yappy fluffy things (that seem to be owned exclusively by cunts) seem to all be vicious as fuck.

I think the problem is with the owners, more than the dog.
(Half of Stephen Fry's right buttock pissed on your dog on, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 9:26, 8 replies)

Quite true
No such thing as a bad dog, only bad owners.
Mind you, I see no point in owning a dog if it hasn't got a specific purpose.
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 9:32, closed)

would companionship count?
.
(welgar, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 9:34, closed)

It depends
Why would someone need to own a Rottweiler for companionship when something smaller and more suitable would do the job?
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 9:48, closed)

perhaps
they just fell in love with it at the local spca. But back to the point Its not the dog or the breed (although to be fair some have a particular nature) but the owner . For example i have a fox terrier normally considered "yappy" . Im lucky if i hear a single woof out of her all day.
Unfortantly a lot of people get dogs as little more than a fashion accessory wether to look tough with a pitbull called tyson or trendy with a chiauaua called missy.
(welgar, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 9:57, closed)

However
A big dog IS "potentially dangerous", as it could, if it wanted to, rip your face off.
Small yappy dogs may try it on all the time, but you could kick the little fuckers into next week if you wanted to...
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 11:32, closed)

Yup, we have both a boxer/Staffie cross and a Jack Russell/fox terrier type cross.
The little yappy bastard's definitely scarier, if only for the shock factor when she sneaks up behind a victim to give him a barking.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 14:16, closed)

The fact is...
...that animals, domesticated or otherwise, are precisely that. Animals.

Granted, some owners at the more dickheady end of the spectrum bring out the worst of an animal's more primal instincts, but even the none-dickhead owners cannot cancel them out completely. I mean, how many times have you heard the story of a dog savaging some poor fucker and the former owners saying 'but he/she was always good as gold'?

For this reason and a good few others, I choose not to share my home or my life with an animal. But if you must do so, and bearing my comments in mind then perhaps choosing one that isn't a) stronger than the average human, b) faster than the average human and c) possessed of great big fucking sharp pointy teeth may be the way forward.

This limits me to either a tortoise or a bonsai tree and frankly if I had to choose, I'd go for the latter just to be on the safe side.
(thatblokeoverthere not quite as much an arsehole as I thought, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 16:53, closed)

Well put
Most, if not all, dogs have SMAR - Small Mammal Attack Response.
These instincts are deep rooted and go all the way back to the wolf - something that will never be bred out of them.
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Mon 20 Oct 2008, 16:59, closed)